A talented young driver who lost his legs after a crash a Donington Park was back there racing this weekend for the first time since the smash.

Billy Monger was 17 when he smashed into the back of another car while competing in a Formula Four Championship race on April 16 last year and it took 90 minutes for rescue teams to get him out of his mangled vehicle.

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He was airlifted to Queens Medical Centre in Nottingham for lengthy surgeries.

But after the amputation of both legs, Billy was back in a racecar just 11 weeks later, using hand controls instead of pedals in a specially adapted vehicle.

He hit the headlines again when reining F1 champion Lewis Hamilton invited him to attend the Grand Prix at Silverstone in July last year as his special guest.

This weekend he returned to the Leicestershire track, where he put in the fastest lap in qualifying to start in pole position ahead of the first of Sunday’s three races.

It was an emotional reunion for some of the marshals who were involved in the incident in April 2017 (Image: Paul Horton Motorsport Photography)

During the day he had an emotional reunion with some of the safety marshals at the track who were there on the day of his crash and helped him. He gave a speech telling them that there would be no racing without their efforts but joked he did not want to have to see them up close during a race again.

Billy Monger thanked the marshals for their commitment to the sport (Image: Paul Horton Motorsport Photography)

Tweeting before the racing began Billy, now 19, said: “Been a big learning curve, not just with racing.

“No clue what it’s going to feel like but I’ll be giving my all, no matter what! Thank you everyone for your support, only have eyes on one goal going into this weekend.”

In another tweet after qualifying, he said: “Wow, what can I say? Feels awesome to be back here and to stick it on POLE as well.

An emotional return to Donington race circuit for Billy Monger taking third place in his race (Image: Paul Horton Motorsport Photography)

He went on to come fourth in the first race and 15th in the second.

Billy, who lives in Surrey, has started doing wheelchair tennis and skiing. He is currently learning to walk on prosthetic legs and aims to be fully mobile again as soon as possible.

The former go-karting champion has been raising cash for the air ambulance that took him to hospital, recently taking part in a charity walk at Brands Hatch race circuit, completing the first 200 metres before switching to his wheelchair.